Clutch construction



C. B. SPASE CLUTCH CONSTRUCTION Dec. 11, 1934.

Filed July 29 1931 0 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented ac. ii, iaaa v 1,983,885

um'nazo STATES PATENT OFFICE Charles B. Space, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to W. C. Lipe Ina, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 29, 1931, sci-mm. 553,145 .14 Claims. (01. 192-68) This inventionrelatesto friction clutches, such ment comprising'a shaft and a friction plate or as are used in motor vehicles and particularly, disk mounted thereon and extending between the clutches embodying a series of motion transmitpressure ring and the bottom of the recess of ting and multiplying levers between theithrowthefiy-wheel, a throw-out sleeve slidable axially out collar and the pressure ring, and has for of the shaft, a spring acting thereon to hold the 5 itsobject, a particularly simple and efficient clutch engaged, and motion transmitting levers means self contained with the clutch for syn between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure chro'nizing the speed of the driving element or ring, the clutch spring being interposed between fly wheel of the engine and the driven element or I a collar on the rear end of the throw-out sleeve clutch shaft and the countershaft of-a transand a fulcrum ring for said levers, which fulcrum l0 mission gearing connected thereto prior to gear ring is adjustable axially rectilinearly as distinshiiting operations, or during gear shifting op guished from a screw thread adjustment, and is erations, so that the gears will tend to come into also slidable within limits during the operation mesh without clashing and without any conscious; of the throw-out sleeve.

' or deliberate effort on the part of the driver to In clutches used inmotor vehicles, the shiftable l5 avoid clashing. The term gear shifting is in element of the clutch is usually the driven tended to comprehend both shiftable gears and element.

shiitable toothed clutches, and either jaw clutches The transmission gearing for which this clutch or gear clutches. is particularly applicable is either of the sliding 29 It further has for itsobiect, a particularly gear type or the constant mesh type with slidable simple and emcient lever construction'by which clutches. The transmission gearing includes a the levers are held assembled by interlocking drive shaft, whichisshaft i,atransmisslon shaft, means between them before the clutch is asa countershaft and the gearing between the sembled' in a fly wheel, or driving element. shafts. In heavy duty transmission gearings, the

It further has for its object, a particularly countershaft and the gears thereon are heavy and 25 simple and efficient arrangement and adjustment have considerable fly wheel momentum which of the fulcrum ring for the motion transmitting causes the gears to spin when the clutch is disand multiplying levers. engaged so that the gear elements to be meshed It further has for its object, a particularly during the gear shifting operation must be synsimple and emcient ventilating means for the chronized in order to avoid clashing during gear 30 clutch. shifting operations.

The invention consists in the novel features In shifting from a lower to a higher speed the and in the combinations and constructions hereusual procedure isto release the clutch and deinafter set forth and claimed. celerate the engine. This procedure leaves the In describing this invention, reference is had driven element rotating at approximately the 35 to the-accompanying drawing in which like char-' same high speed as the engine before deceleration. acters designate corresponding parts in all the Therefore, the countershaft of the transmission vi w I v which is directly coupled to the driven element is Figure 1 is a rear elevation. partly in section, revolved at much too high a spe to Permit y 40 of a clutch embodying this invention. shifting into a higher speed. It being understood 40 Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2- 2, that in Shifting m & OW Sp d a h h Figure L I speed, synchronism is obtained only through a Figure 3 15a fragmentary sectional view Simislowing down of the transmission countershaft. at to Figure 2 illustrating the final adjustment In some clutches this is effected by havinga clutch of the abutment disk and taken on line brake which unfortunately usually slows down Figure v the} countgrshaftthspeedmtoo muci or tstopsmit en ire y. ince e ve ce spee con ros e (133:: etilelltlgltgoltflli dji v iz zisgtxt gfigg mainshaft speeds of the transmission, such an artifice as a clutch brake usually does not attain any the fly wheel of the tntemal combustion the purpose of its function, causing gear .clash, etc 50 gine 03 the Vehicle a pressure ring opposed to a The known tendency in shifting from ahigher friction surface formed at the bottom of a recess Speed to a lower Speed is to accelerate the engine in t d v element fly Wheel, 8 back COVE! This is done to increase the countershaft speed sructure rotatable with the driving element and which is necessary to obtain a synchronous con closing the rear end of the recess, the driven eledition. Hence in shifting from a higher to a lower gear the operator should accelerate the notches and projections being preferably triengine while the clutch is engaged and the transangular and located near the inner ends of the clutch or does both simultaneously or starts to The projections 19 and notches 18 hold the levers 10 Some drivers intuitively operate the clutch with or hooks within the groove of the collar sections 15 what is called a double declutching effect, while corresponding to the sections and 21. The proothers never acquire the knack of double dejections 18 and 19 are more economical to manuclutching, and one of the objects of this invenfacture and more efficient than hooks provided at tion is a mechanism built into the clutch for autothe inner ends of the levers.

20 matically effecting the declutching in two steps The outer ends of the levers press against an 20 upon one throw of the clutch pedal in contradisangular bearing face 22 provided at the outer edge a plurality of movements. The declutching effect in two steps continuous of 25 l designates the driving element, which may be each other is brought about by slidably mounting 2. the fly wheel of the internal combustion engine the fulcrum disk 12 in the back plate 11 so that 3 is the pressure ring mounted in the recess clutching and declutching operations. The slidand interlocked with the fly wheel to rotate thereing movement is about one thirty-second of an :10 with and shift axially thereof. The driven eleinch and is indicated at 25 by the space between ment includes a shaft 4 having a friction plate an annular flange on the fulcrum disk 12 and the or disk 5 mounted thereon in the recess and exrear face of the back plate 11. The fulcrum disk extending motion transmitting and multiplying the width thereof.

levers between the inner end of the throw-out During the declutching operation, the pressure sleeve 7 and the pressure ring 3. The levers are ring 3 is withdrawn by asuitable number of springs rigid or inflexible. 27 connected at like ends to the back plate at 28 50 The back cover structure comprises an annular and at their other ends at 29 to the pressure back plate 11 bolted or otherwise secured to the plate.

fly wheel, and an adjustable fulcrum disk 12 slid- In the operation thus far described, when the able in the annular back plate 11 and carrying throwout sleeve 7 is operated against the action therewith but slide axially thereof by a key memslightly relatively to the fulcrum disk 12 so that ber 14 provided on the sleeve and sliding in a the inner ends of the levers have a greater and 60 lengthwise groove 15 in the hub 8. different movement during the initial compression The throw-out sleeve is operated in the usual of the spring 9 than the fulcrum disk 12. During as at 16, and being provided with ventilating openmoved away from the bearing points 23 on the ings or notches 17 at their outer ends, the notches pressure ring 3, but not entirely out of engagebeing formed partly in adjacent levers. That is, ment therewith until full compression of the they are preferably formed between the outer spring 9 so that during'the deceleration of the ends of the levers. The levers are held from disengine, the driving element or fly Wheel 1 is still placement relatively to each other by interlocking ance at 25 is entirely taken up.

meshwith the countershaft gears in constant mesh transmissions, and thus prevents spinning of the gears on the countershaft and of gears on the transmission shaft of a constant mesh gearing, faster than the transmission shaft which is now being turned by the coasting vehicle.

Also, as soon as the spring 9 begins to depress and hence, the driving effect taken off from the transmission gearing, the shiftable gear elements are released from driving elfect and are free to be shifted, without binding, out of mesh or out of engagement with the gear elements with which they are engaged to neutral position.

During the completion of the throw-out movement of the sleeve '1, the fulcrum disk 12 moves in axially, taking up the one thirty-second of an inch clearance at 25, so that during such further or final movement of the sleeve, allpressure on the pressure ring 3 is quickly withdrawn and the pressure ring is free to be acted upon by the springs 27, and thereafter the shiftable elements of the gearing are shifted into their new shifted position with the speed of said elements synchronized. During the reengagement of the clutch, that is during the release of the throw-out sleeve '7, the spring 9 reacts but does not at first apply full pressure to the pressure ring through the levers 10. Full pressure is not applied until the fulcrum ring 12 has been shifted rearward to restore the clearance at 25. The action results in a natural, smooth engagement of the clutch.

During each shifting operation from a lower gear to a higher gear, the clutch goes through a sequence of operations as follows:-

a. As the clutch pedal is depressed the clutch levers are unloaded from the spring.

b. It follows that the gears are almost entirely unloaded from the drive of the engine and are therefore shiftable.

c. The clutch sleeve '7, spring 9, levers l0 and fulcrum ring 12 then move approximately one thirty-second of an inch without moving the pressure plate 3 while the engine is declerating thus causing the slowing down of the driven element 5.

:1. After the one thirty-second of an inch movement occurs, the further movement of the clutch pedal fully releases the pressure plate 3 from engagement with the driven element 5.

As a result of this combination of events, the countershaft is slowed down to approximately the correct speed for a clean changing of gears.

In shifting from a higher to a lower gear, the clutch pedal is depressed. The period before full release is long enough to cause the acceleration of the engine to also accelerate the driven element since the driven element is in partial contact with the driving element during part of the declutching operation and thus insures a better condition for the change of gears.

In new clutches, the clearance at 25 is of greater importance than when the clutch is well worn in, and after the clutch becomes well worn in, an adjustment to prevent slipping in the normal operation is necessary. The fulcrum ring is adjusted to its innermost position wherein the clear- The fulcrum disk 12 is normally held with the clearance 25 provided between it and the back plate 11 by means of plates 30 interposed between the heads of screws 31 and the back plate 11, and the margins of the adjusting plate 30 overlying the outer face of the margin of the disk 12, as seen in Figure 2. However, when adjustment of the clutch is necessary to take up wear, the adjustment plates 30 are reversed into the position shown in Figure 3 wherein lips or thickened portions 32 are arranged to engage the rear face of the fulcrum disk 12 so as to hold the disk 12 in its innermost position with no clearance left at 25. This provides a particularly simple adjustment that can be made quickly -,by any mechanic and also provides for accurate rectilinear adjustment of the disk 12 in contradistinction to a screw thread or inclined plane adjustment. Also, this adjustment maintains the parallelism of the fulcrum l3 and the levers, which parallelism can not be maintained by the screw thread adjustment or connections wherein the abutment ring is adjusted by screwing it in the back plate. 4

When such an adjustment'is necessary, the clutch is well worn in and gear shifting operations easy, compared with such operations when using a new clutch and also, when such adjustment is necessary, the friction faces of the disk 5 are about ready to be renewed although when slipping of the clutch develops, the adjustment can be readily made by the operator or .an ordinary mechanic, a wrench being the only tool needed.

The action and relative arrangement of the levers 10 with respect to the fulcrum plane formsno part of this invention and cross reference is made to my application Ser. No. 602,888, filed April 4, 1932.

What I claim is:

1. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of one of said elements, the other of said elements including a friction plate extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the ring is associated, an axially shiftable throw-out sleeve, motion transmittingand multiplyinglevers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back plate secured to the element with which the pressure ring is associated, a fulcrum ring mounted in the back plate for coast-ing with said levers, and a clutch spring interposed between the throw-out collar and the fulcrum ring.

2. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of one of said elements, the other of said elements including a friction plate extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the ring is associated, an axially shiftable throw-out sleeve, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back plate secured to the element with which the pressure ring is associated, a fulcrum ring mounted in the back plate for coacting with said levers, and a clutch spring interposed between the throw-out collar and the fulcrum ring, the fulcrum ring being mounted to have a limited axial sliding movement.

3. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of one of said elements, the other of said elements including a friction plate extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the ring is associated, an axially shiftable throw-out sleeve, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back with which the pressure ring is associated, a fulcrum ring mounted in the back plate for coacting with said levers, and a clutch spring interposed between the throw-out collar and the fulcrum ring, and means for adjusting the fulcrum plate secured to the element iii) being arranged to to the back back plate carried by the driving element, a fulcrum disk mounted in the back plate to shift axially'thereof, a throw-out sleeve mounted concentric with the shaft and slidable axially of the shaft and the fulcrum disk and extending to the,

rear of the disk, a spring encircling the sleeve and rear end against said sleeve and against the fulcrum disk, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, said levers coacting withthe fulcrum disk.

5. In a clutchfthe combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and opposed to the driving element, the driven driving element, a fulcrum disk mounted in the back plate to shift axially thereof, a throw-out sleeve mounted concentric with the shaft and slidable axially of the shaft and the fulcrum disk and extending to the motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out ring, said levers coacting with the fulcrum disk, the fulcrum disk being mounted to have a limited sliding movement in the back plate.

6. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with one of said elements, a back plate rotatable with the element with which the pressure ring is associated, the other element comprising a shaft and a friction plate on the shaft extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the pressure ring is associated, a throw-out sleeve shiftable axially of the shaft, a clutch spring acting on the throw-out sleeve to hold the,.,clutch engaged, and motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, said levers being separate units which are arranged side by side and each being provided with means interlocking with the adjacent lever to hold the levers assembled.

7. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with one of said elements, a back plate rotatable with the element with which the pressure ring is associated, the other element comprising a shaft and a friction plate on the shaft extending between ciated, a throw-out sleeve shiftable axially of the shaft, a clutch spring acting on thethrow-out si eve to hold the clutch engaged, and motion 3; and multiplying levers between the thro. or sleeve and the pressure ring, said levers being arranged side by side and each being provided with a notch in one edge, and a projection on its other edge, the notch of one lever receive the projection of the adjacent lever.

8. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring opposed to the tation of the driven driving element, a back cover structure rotatable with the driving element, the driven element interposed between the driving element, a throw-out sleeve shiftableaxedge of the back cover structure, whereby during the rotation of the clutch air is free to'pass through the inner series of openings against the levers through the openings at the outer ends of the leversv against the pressure ring and out through the outer series of openings.

9. In a clutch comprising a back plate and an annular member carried by the back plate and adjustable axially thereof to take up for wear, of means for adjusting the plate comprising reversible washers, and means for Washers against the back plate, the washers having opposite edge portions of difierent thicknesses, the washers being reversible to bring either of said portions against the annular member.

10. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and opposed to the driving element,- the driven element including a shaft and a friction disk extending between the pressure ring and the driving element, a throw-out sleeve shiftable axially of ting and multiplying levers between the throwout sleeve and the pressure ring, a spring acting on the throw-out sleeve to hold the clutch engaged, and means for successively releasing the pressure ring of the spring load, whereby the driving element acts to synchronize the roelement, and then fully releasing the driven element upon one continuous throw of the throwout sleeve by the operator, by first apply ing light pressure to the pressure ring through the levers and then full pressure upon'one continuous throw of the sleeve by the spring.

11. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a and opposed to the driving element, the driven element including a shaft and a friction disk extending between the pressure ring and the driving element, a throw-out sleeve shiftable axially of the shaft, and motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throwout sleeve and the pressure ring, a spring acting on the throwout sleeve to hold the clutch engaged, and means for successively releasing the pressure ring of the spring load, whereby the driving element acts to synchronize the rotation of the driven element with the driving element, and then fully releasing the driven element upon one continuous throw of the throwout sleeve by the operator, by

the shaft, and motion transmit-' element with the driving pressure ring rotatable with first applying light pressure to the pressure ring levers rotatable with the driving element, the pressure ring and the levers and slidable axially relatively thereto, the throw-out spring thrusting at one end against the fulcrum ring in a direction Opposite to the thrust of the sleeve by the spring against said levers, and shoulders for limiting the inward sliding of the fulcrum ring when the sleeve is operated to release the pressure ring.

12. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of one of said elements, the other element including a friction plate extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the ring is rotatable, an axially shiftable throw-out sleeve, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back plate secured to the element with which the pressure ring is associated, and an axially shiftable spring pressed floating fulcrum ring mounted on the back plate for coacting with said levers and having a limited axial shifting movement against the action of the spring during the throwing-out operation and with the spring during the throwing-in operation.

13. In a clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of one of said elements, the other element including a shaft and friction plate, the latter extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the element with which the ring is rotatable, a throw-out sleeve shiftable axially of the shaft, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back plate secured to the element with which the pressure ring is associated, an axially slidable floating fulcrum ring mounted in the back plate for coacting with said levers, and a clutch spring acting in opposite directions on the throw-out collar and the fulcrum ring.

14. In a clutch, the combination of drivingand driven elements, a pressure ring rotatable with and shiftable axially of the driving element, the driven element including a friction plate extending between the pressure ring and the opposing surface of the driving element, an axially shiftable throw-out sleeve, motion transmitting and multiplying levers between the throw-out sleeve and the pressure ring, a back plate secured to the driving element, a fulcrum ring coasting with the lever and mounted in the back plate to have an axial shifting movement, a clutch spring acting in opposite directions on the fulcrum ring and the throw-out sleeve, and springs connected tothe pressure ring to withdraw the pressure ring in opposition to the action of the clutch spring, said levers being floatingly mounted and bearing on and separable from the pressure ring and the fulcrum ring.

CHARLES B. SPASE. 

